In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. It is by the sheer grace of Allah Almighty that we have come to the conclusion of another successful annual national ijtema of the Majlis Ansarullah, The Gambia, the elderly wing of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at.
Ansarullah is an Arabic expression meaning “Helpers of Allah”. It is taken from a verse of the Holy Qur’an: “And when Hazrat Jesus(Peace be on him) Prophet and Messenger of Allah Almighty perceived their disbelief, he said, ‘Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?’ The disciples answered, ‘We are the Helpers of Allah. We have believed in Allah. And bear thou witness that we are obedient.” (?l`Imr?n Chapter 3, Verse 53).
During the time of our beloved Master and Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa(saw), the people who gave him refuge and helped him settle in Medina were also called the ansar.
That goes to show that ansar are helpers of Allah Almighty and His religion, hence we can say the ansar have a special status of nearness to Allah Almighty by virtue of their righteousness and devotion to Allah Almighty.
For that reason, as members of Majlis Ansarullah of this jama’at, we should always be ready to help in the cause of Allah Almighty, with our wealth, belongings, persons and also encourage our families to always be steadfast in the cause of Allah Almighty. That is why today I will base my speech on ansarullah and their families.
As we are elders, we should remember that we are here today but tomorrow we will not be around and the younger ones will be the ones we will leave behind us.
For that reason, every ansar should make sure that he trains his children in the best possible manner so that no matter what happens tomorrow, these children will always be firm on their faith and believe in the religion of Islam and will always be active members as well. We should always encourage our children to be offering the five daily prayers regularly without fail. We should train and encourage our children to be active in reading the Holy Qur’an; train them to be generous and always strive in the cause of their religion with their wealth and self-sacrifice. We should always be active in encouraging our children to learn and acquire knowledge to the maximum level.
We should educate our children about khilafat and the institution of khilafat so that they can realise the blessings bestowed upon them by Allah Almighty.
In a hadith, Hazrat Abdullah ibn Umar reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects. A man is the guardian of his family and he is responsible for them. A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them. The servant of a man is a guardian of the property of his master and he is responsible for it. No doubt, every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock’.”
This hadith shows the huge responsibility that lies on all of us for that reason, we should all look after and take care of our duties and responsibilities.
As women are the ones that are mostly tasked with the care of children, we should train our women and work with them at our homes so that in return they will also train the children to develop good manners and be the envy of society. If our women are active, even we are not around, they will be able to take care of the children with ease and success. It should be understood that the wife and husband must jointly and unitedly come together in educating and training the children so that they will become responsible and productive and peaceful citizens of the society. In this way our progenies for the coming generations will by the grace of Allah Almighty always be on the right path and be always guided by Allah Almighty.
As ansar (helpers of Allah Almighty) in a true sense can be fulfilled when we are always prepared and ready to preach and spread the pure, pristine and true teachings of Islam as preached and practiced by the Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustapha (saw). Besides that we must also be ready to serve humanity. As mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad Mustapha (saw), the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (as) is to rejuvenate Islam and bring the lost glory of Islam and unite the hearts for the sake and pleasure of Allah Almighty and this is what Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at is doing Worldwide. In conclusion I will request members of Ansarullah to always pray for our Beloved Huzur(May Allah be his Helper), whether we know it or not, our khalifa is always praying for us.
He needs our prayers so we should pray for His Holiness and encourage and remind our families to always keep him in our prayers. Let us continue to pray for our beloved country the Gambia and the world at large.
Let us keep each other in our prayers and also let us continue advocating and practicing peace and always preach peace in our homes, communities and societies at large.
His Holiness Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V(May Allah be his helper) is conveying salam and prayers to you all and the entire country and praying for all of us and we should continue to pray for his holiness, our dear and beloved country, our mother land, The Gambia, sub-region and humanity at large.
May Allah Almighty enable us to fulfill our duties and obligations. May He make us ansarullah in the true sense of the term and enable each person to reach his destination safely and may Allah Almighty in His unlimited powers and mercy to continue to establish peace, security, stability and prosperity in our dear and beloved country, the Gambia. Ameen.
